Israelis speak out

During his visit to London last month, President Bush cautiously addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “Israel should freeze settlement construction, dismantle unauthorized outposts, end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people, and not prejudice final negotiations with the placements of walls and fences.”

Israel’s settlement program has gone on for decades. Proposing a “freeze” is ludicrous, evoking the image of a few carpenters putting down their hammers in deference to Bush’s request. “Dismantle unauthorized outposts”? In other words, remove the trailers that zealous settlers have hauled out to remote West Bank hills? That gesture is somewhat akin to removing a bucket of water from Lake Michigan. “End the daily humiliation” is a meaningless phrase until there is an end to the military occupation.